Apparatus and method for recovering, cleaning, and recycling animal bedding contaminated with manure and urine

ABSTRACT

A method, an apparatus, a plant, and business method are provided for recovering, cleaning, and recycling dirty crumb rubber bedding used in barns and stables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure. The dirty bedding includes bedding which is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand. The method includes the steps of washing the dirty bedding on a pulse washer which washes and separates straw from the bedding, followed by washing on a vibratory washer which loosens and washes away any remaining solid particles clinging to the bedding. Dirty water in from the pulse washer is filtered and reused, while a filtered out a sludge primarily of manure is subsequently packaged for use as fertilizer. The recycling plant includes a pulse washer and vibratory washer fed with stockpiled dirty by an input conveyor. A water filtration device filters the dirty water, and an output conveyor move the cleaned bedding to a stockpile of cleaned bedding. The stockpiled cleaned bedding is packaged for re-use, the sludge of manure is packaged for use as fertilizer, and the other contaminates are filtered out as a sludge that is disposed of.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of equipmentand methods for recovering and cleaning animal bedding used in barns andstables which house animals that produce manure such as horses and cows.The bedding is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by theanimals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand. Morespecifically the present invention relates to a method, a cleaningapparatus, a recycling plant, and business method for recovering,cleaning, and recycling the bedding.

[0003] A preferred method used with crumb rubber bedding includes thesteps of collecting the manure contaminated or dirty bedding from atleast one customer's site which houses animals, loading onto a transportvehicle, transporting to a cleaning facility, and unloading from thetransport vehicle and stockpiling the dirty bedding at the cleaningfacility. The dirty bedding is loaded into an input hopper of an inputconveyor which portions the dirty bedding into the feed hopper whichportions a desired amount of the dirty bedding onto a first screen of apulse washer. Water is added into the feed hopper as the dirty beddingis portioned to form a slurry which is vibration fed onto the firstscreen of the pulse washer. The dirty bedding is pulse washed to forminitially cleaned bedding by circulating the dirty bedding on the firstscreen to wash manure, urine, dirt, and sand therefrom through the firstscreen to produce primary dirty water in a tank of the pulse washer. Thepulse washer simultaneously physically separates on the first screen theinitially cleaned bedding from lighter contaminates such as straw. Thedirty bedding is also sprayed with water from a plurality of overheadspray nozzles during pulse washing to assist in washing. The primarydirty water is filtered to remove the manure and other contaminates,producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprisedprimarily of manure which is deposited into containers for latershipment to farms as a fertilizer. A portion of the cleaned filteredwater is used to wash the dirty bedding. The initially cleaned beddingseparated from the lighter contaminates is transferred onto a secondscreen of a vibratory washer by manually dumping or is automaticallypushed by pulsing of the pulse washer. The vibratory washer final washesthe initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding byvibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding witha plurality of sprays of high pressure water. This removes any primarydirty water remaining from the pulse washing, any loose pieces of solidmaterial of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws andother remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned beddingto produce secondary dirty water. The secondary dirty water is filteredto remove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned beddingand other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filteredwater. The filtering of the secondary dirty water also produced asecondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particles which issubsequently disposed of. A portion of the cleaned filtered water isrecycled by combining with water from the water source to wash the dirtybedding and returning another portion of the cleaned filtered waterdirectly to the water source after filtering. The finally cleanedbedding is unloaded from the vibratory washer passing through an outletscreen onto an output conveyor that transports the cleaned bedding to adesired location and is stockpiled. The finally cleaned bedding isbagged and stockpiled at the desired location for subsequent shipment.

[0004] The cleaning apparatus includes in combination a pulse washer anda vibratory washer. The pulse washer includes a main frame, a feedhopper mounted on the main frame, a screen assembly, an open toppedtank, a pulse generating device, and a water filtration system. Thescreen assembly has a first screen mounted on an upstanding peripheralframe for receiving dirty bedding from the feed hopper. The open toppedtank has a bottom wall which is inwardly tapered toward a drain hole ofthe tank, and at least one upstanding peripheral wall. The screenassembly is supported over the tank by the main frame. The tank has avertically disposed divider wall disposed above the drain hole whichforms the tank into separate pool portions. The pulse generating deviceincludes a movable diaphragm is disposed within a housing through thedivider wall that is reciprocally driven by a drive device operativelyconnected thereto. The pulse washer initially washes the dirty beddingusing a pulsing action imparted to water contained within the tank. Thiscreates a differential height which alternates between the pool portionsto alternately wash over the first screen and the dirty bedding tosimultaneously wash the manure, urine, dirt, and sand from the dirtybedding. This is washed into the tank to produce primary dirty water andinitially cleaned bedding. This also physically separates the heavierinitially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material on the firstscreen. The water filtration system includes piping leading from thedrain hole of the tank, through a pump which moves the primary dirtywater through the water filtration system, and a filter. The filterremoves the manure, dirt, and sand from the primary dirty water as asludge and produces cleaned filtered water. The piping leads to the feedhopper such that the cleaned filtered water is circulated back to thefeed hopper to moisten the dirty bedding into a slurry prior to beingreceived on the first screen of the screen assembly.

[0005] The vibratory washer includes a support frame, a funnel having alarge inlet and a small outlet mounted to the support frame, a vibratorassembly, and an overhead spray system. The vibrator assembly has asecond screen for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from the pulsewasher. The vibrator assembly is supported by a peripheral frameresiliently mounted on the support frame above the funnel on a pluralityof resilient mounts. The vibrator assembly is vibrated by a vibratordevice mounted thereto. The overhead spray system includes a first waterpipe disposed generally above the vibrator assembly which is connectableto a water supply pipe for supplying pressurized water. A plurality ofdownwardly oriented high pressure spray nozzles are operativelyassociated with the first water pipe for providing a plurality of spraysof rinsing water onto the initially washed bedding on the second screenof the vibrator assembly. The vibratory washer finally washes theinitially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding byvibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding witha plurality of sprays of high pressure water from the high pressurespray nozzles. The plurality of sprays remove any primary dirty waterremaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of theinitially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remainingcontaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to producesecondary dirty water.

[0006] The recycling plant includes in combination, the cleaningapparatus, an input conveyor, a primary water filtration device, and anoutput conveyor. The cleaning apparatus includes the pulse washerconnected to a water supply for supplying pressurized water. The pulsewasher receives dirty bedding and water from a water source to form aslurry. The pulse washer initially washes the dirty bedding using apulsing action to simultaneously wash the manure, dirt, and sand fromthe dirty bedding to produce primary dirty water and initially cleanedbedding. The pulse washer also physically separates the heavierinitially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material. The cleaningapparatus further includes a vibratory washer connected to the watersupply for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from the pulsewasher. The vibratory washer finally washes the initially cleanedbedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating andsimultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a pluralityof sprays of high pressure water. The plurality of sprays remove anyprimary dirty water remaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces ofsolid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light strawsand other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleanedbedding to produce secondary dirty water. The input conveyor is fortransporting and portioning the dirty bedding onto the pulse washer.

[0007] The primary water filtration device receives and filters theprimary dirty water from the pulse washer to remove the manure, dirt,and sand, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludgecomprised primarily of manure which is periodically removed from theprimary water filtration device for use as fertilizer. A portion of thecleaned filtered water is pumped back to the water source and a portionof the cleaned filtered water is pumped back to the pulse washer to formthe slurry. The output conveyor is for transporting the finally cleanedbedding from the vibratory washer to a stockpile area for the finallycleaned bedding.

[0008] A preferred business method for recovering, cleaning, andrecycling dirty bedding used at customer sites in barns and stableswhich house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure includesthe steps of negotiating a bedding cleaning and replacement servicecontract with customers such as stable owners and farmers to remove themanure contaminated dirty bedding and replace with clean bedding,picking up the dirty bedding at a customer's site, and transporting thedirty bedding to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning. The dirty bedding iscleaned to form clean bedding and transported back to the customer'ssite to replace the dirty bedding. Periodic customer payments arereceived for the bedding cleaning and replacement service. Operationalexpenses are paid from the periodic customer payments, as well asreplacement filters and other regular plant maintenance. Contracts arenegotiated with bedding suppliers to furnish new bedding as needed. Thenew bedding is ordered when needed and received, and the beddingsuppliers are paid from the periodic customer payments. Profits aredeposited at a bank for withdrawal as needed.

[0009] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0010] Various materials are spread over the floor and used to line thefloor of animal stalls such as used in barns to house horses and cows.Some such bedding include the long used mainstay of straw, and morerecently developed bedding such as wood shavings, sand, and mostrecently, particles of recycled rubber, or crumb rubber. Regardless ofwhat bedding is used, the bedding becomes soiled by the manure and urinedeposited on the bedding by the animals. The contaminated bedding istypically manually removed by use of a shovel or a pitchfork and awheelbarrow. Manual separation of the manure from the bedding using ashovel or pitchfork is difficult and a time-intensive. Such separationis impractical if a significant number of stalls are to be cleaned eachday. Consequently, the contaminated bedding may simply be collected andthrown away and replaced by new bedding. This is wasteful and increasesthe costs for housing and maintaining animals. If the bedding could beefficiently cleaned and re-used and the manure cleaned therefrom couldbe deposited on growing crops as a natural fertilizer, this would bedesirable.

[0011] Crumb rubber bedding has come from concern about the usualdisposal method for used tires of dumping the used tires in largeunsightly mounds. Crumb rubber is produced by grinding up used tiresforming rubber particles called crumb rubber which may be recycled suchas in making new rubber products, running tracks, and the like. One suchuse found for the crumb rubber is as the bedding for animals. Theparticles of crumb rubber are each between about one-quarter tothree-eights inch in size and roughly rectangular in shape due to themanufacturing process. The rubber particle bedding is typically appliedin a layer four to five inches thick on the floor of the stable.

[0012] There have been various devices designed for recycling animalbedding contaminated with manure, dirt, sand, and straw, some of whichrecycle wood shavings bedding, some recycle sand bedding, and somerecycle crumb rubber bedding. A mobile apparatus for recovering woodshavings from the manure contained in the shavings used in animal stallsis disclosed in Hart, U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,513, issued on Jul. 27, 1999.The apparatus comprises a portable shaker frame which is inclined andsuspended on springs from a wheeled carriage. The springs permit theshaker frame to vibrate relative to the carriage frame. The shaker frameincludes a plurality of longitudinally extending, parallel steel rodswhich are spaced a distance sufficient to pass the wood shavings whilethe manure slides downwardly along the rods into a collection containerfor disposal. A vibrator motor is connected to the shaker frame forimparting vibratory motion to the rods carried by the shaker frame. Thewood shavings are recovered for reuse and the manure is separatedtherefrom for subsequent disposal.

[0013] A method and apparatus for the separation of sand beddingcontaminated with manure and other contaminates is disclosed in Wedel,et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,393, issued on Feb. 24, 1998. One version ofthe apparatus includes a tank having an internal chamber with an upperportion and a conical lower portion with a grate between the twoportions. The internal chamber of the tank is filled with water and thesand bedding with contaminating manure is dumped into the internalchamber to form the aqueous suspension with the water. A flow of air andwater agitates the mixture in the aqueous suspension which causes thesand to separate from the manure. The sand settles to the floor of thetank while the manure remains suspended in the aqueous suspension.

[0014] Yacus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,624, issued on Jun. 3, 1980 reveals amethod and apparatus for sanitizing rubber particles used as bedding foranimals such as horses. The method includes vacuuming the rubberparticles contaminated with manure into a container until filled. Thefilled container is wheeled to and secured onto a skip-hoist of thesanitizing apparatus. The skip-hoist raises the filled container anddeposits the contaminated rubber particles contained therein into aholding hopper. The contaminated rubber particles are fed from theholding hopper through a meter at a uniform rate onto an orbitingscreener. An orbiting movement and the orientation of the orbitingscreener segregates contaminating manure and hay from the rubberparticles. The rubber particles are then steam cleaned, and fed onto aleaf-type vibrating screener for drying, sanitizing, and spraying withan insecticide. The sanitized rubber particles are vibratorily moved offthe screener into a container. Waste extracted from both screens isconveyed onto an inclined platform for transport to a waste collector.

[0015] There is a need for an apparatus and method of separating beddingfrom manure and urine produced by the animals, along with othercontaminates such as dirt, sand, and straw in an efficient manner forrecycling the bedding, and utilizing the manure as a natural fertilizeron crops.

[0016] It is thus an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for efficiently and cost-effectively cleaning dirtybedding.

[0017] It is another object of the present invention to provide such anapparatus and method wherein the manure may be collected and re-used asa natural fertilizer on crops.

[0018] It is a still further object of the present invention to providesuch an apparatus which may be transportable to the location of the farmfor cleaning the bedding.

[0019] It is still another object of the present invention to provide abusiness method for recycling bedding.

[0020] It is finally an object of the present invention to provide arecycling plant to which the dirty bedding is transported for cleaningwhich utilizes filtered water from a body of water to wash the bedding,and which returns a portion of the water to the body of water in anecologically sound manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The present invention accomplishes the above-stated objectives,as well as others, as may be determined by a fair reading andinterpretation of the entire specification.

[0022] A method, a cleaning apparatus, a recycling plant, and businessmethod are provided for recovering, cleaning, and recycling dirtybedding used in barns and stables which house animals such as horses andcows that produce manure. The dirty bedding includes bedding which iscontaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, andother waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand.

[0023] The method includes the steps of: 1) portioning a desired amountof dirty bedding onto a first screen of a pulse washer; 2) pulse washingthe dirty bedding to form initially cleaned bedding by circulating thedirty bedding on the first screen to wash manure, urine, dirt, and sandtherefrom through the first screen to produce primary dirty water in atank of the pulse washer, and physically separating on the first screenthe initially cleaned bedding from lighter contaminates such as straw;3) transferring the initially cleaned bedding separated from the lightercontaminates onto a second screen of a vibratory washer; 4) finalwashing the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned beddingby vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned beddingwith a plurality of sprays of high pressure water to remove any primarydirty water remaining from the pulse washing, any loose pieces of solidmaterial of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws andother remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned beddingto produce secondary dirty water; and 5) unloading the finally cleanedbedding from the vibratory washer.

[0024] The method preferably is conducted with crumb rubber bedding, andincludes the additional steps and modifications to existing steps of: 1)collecting the dirty bedding from at least one customer's site whichhouses animals that deposit manure onto the bedding to produce the dirtybedding; 2) loading the dirty bedding into a transport vehicle; 3)transporting the dirty bedding to the cleaning facility; 4) unloadingthe dirty bedding from the transport vehicle and stockpiling at thecleaning facility; 5) loading the dirty bedding into an input hopper ofan input conveyor which portions the dirty bedding into the feed hopper;6) feeding water into the cleaning facility from an outside water sourcefor washing the dirty bedding; 7) portioning a desired amount of dirtybedding into a feed hopper which feeds the dirty bedding onto a firstscreen of a pulse washer, water being added into the feed hopper as thedirty bedding is portioned to form a slurry fed onto the first screen ofthe pulse washer; 8) the slurry is vibration fed from the feed hopperonto the first screen of the pulse washer; 9) the dirty bedding issprayed with water during pulse washing to assist in washing; 10)filtering the primary dirty water to remove the manure and othercontaminates, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludgecomprised primarily of manure, the primary sludge which is depositedinto containers for later shipment to farms as a fertilizer, at least aportion of the cleaned filtered water which is used to wash the dirtybedding; 11) the initially cleaned bedding is moved from the pulsewasher to the vibration washer by a method chosen from the setconsisting of manually dumping by hand and automatically pushed bypulsing of the pulse washer; 12) filtering the secondary dirty water toremove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned beddingand other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filteredwater and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particles;13) disposing of the secondary sludge; 14) recycling a portion of thecleaned filtered water by combining with the water from the water sourceto wash the dirty bedding and returning another portion of the cleanedfiltered water directly to the water source after filtering; 15)unloading the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer includespassing the finally cleaned bedding through an outlet screen onto anoutput conveyor that transports the cleaned bedding to a desiredlocation; 16) the finally cleaned bedding is transported to the desiredlocation is stockpiled; and 17) bagging the finally cleaned beddingstockpiled at the desired location for subsequent shipment.

[0025] The cleaning apparatus includes in combination a pulse washer anda vibratory washer. The pulse washer includes a main frame, a feedhopper mounted on the main frame, a screen assembly, an open toppedtank, a pulse generating device, and a water filtration system. Thescreen assembly has a first screen mounted on an upstanding peripheralframe for receiving dirty bedding from the feed hopper. The open toppedtank has a bottom wall which is inwardly tapered toward a drain hole ofthe tank, and at least one upstanding peripheral wall. The screenassembly is supported over the tank by the main frame. The tank has avertically disposed divider wall disposed above the drain hole whichforms the tank into separate pool portions. The pulse generating deviceincludes a movable diaphragm is disposed within a housing through thedivider wall that is reciprocally driven by a drive device operativelyconnected thereto. The pulse washer initially washes the dirty beddingusing a pulsing action imparted to water contained within the tank. Thiscreates a differential height which alternates between the pool portionsto alternately wash over the first screen and the dirty bedding tosimultaneously wash the manure, urine, dirt, and sand from the dirtybedding. This is washed into the tank to produce primary dirty water andinitially cleaned bedding. This also physically separates the heavierinitially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material on the firstscreen. The water filtration system includes piping leading from thedrain hole of the tank, through a pump which moves the primary dirtywater through the water filtration system, and a filter. The filterremoves the manure, dirt, and sand from the primary dirty water as asludge and produces cleaned filtered water. The piping leads to the feedhopper such that the cleaned filtered water is circulated back to thefeed hopper to moisten the dirty bedding into a slurry prior to beingreceived on the first screen of the screen assembly.

[0026] The vibratory washer includes a support frame, a funnel having alarge inlet and a small outlet mounted to the support frame, a vibratorassembly, and an overhead spray system. The vibrator assembly has asecond screen for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from the pulsewasher. The vibrator assembly is supported by a peripheral frameresiliently mounted on the support frame above the funnel on a pluralityof resilient mounts. The vibrator assembly is vibrated by a vibratordevice mounted thereto. The overhead spray system includes a first waterpipe disposed generally above the vibrator assembly which is connectableto a water supply pipe for supplying pressurized water. A plurality ofdownwardly oriented high pressure spray nozzles are operativelyassociated with the first water pipe for providing a plurality of spraysof rinsing water onto the initially washed bedding on the second screenof the vibrator assembly. The vibratory washer finally washes theinitially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding byvibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding witha plurality of sprays of high pressure water from the high pressurespray nozzles. The plurality of sprays remove any primary dirty waterremaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of theinitially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remainingcontaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to producesecondary dirty water.

[0027] The recycling plant includes in combination, the cleaningapparatus, an input conveyor, a primary water filtration device, and anoutput conveyor. The cleaning apparatus includes the pulse washerconnected to a water supply for supplying pressurized water. The pulsewasher receives dirty bedding and water from a water source to form aslurry. The pulse washer initially washes the dirty bedding using apulsing action to simultaneously wash the manure, dirt, and sand fromthe dirty bedding to produce primary dirty water and initially cleanedbedding. The pulse washer also physically separates the heavierinitially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material. The cleaningapparatus further includes a vibratory washer connected to the watersupply for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from the pulsewasher. The vibratory washer finally washes the initially cleanedbedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating andsimultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a pluralityof sprays of high pressure water. The plurality of sprays remove anyprimary dirty water remaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces ofsolid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light strawsand other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleanedbedding to produce secondary dirty water. The input conveyor is fortransporting and portioning the dirty bedding onto the pulse washer.

[0028] The primary water filtration device receives and filters theprimary dirty water from the pulse washer to remove the manure, dirt,and sand, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludgecomprised primarily of manure which is periodically removed from theprimary water filtration device for use as fertilizer. A portion of thecleaned filtered water is pumped back to the water source and a portionof the cleaned filtered water is pumped back to the pulse washer to formthe slurry. The output conveyor is for transporting the finally cleanedbedding from the vibratory washer to a stockpile area for the finallycleaned bedding.

[0029] The business method includes the steps of 1) negotiating abedding cleaning and replacement service contract with customers such asstable owners and farmers to remove the manure contaminated dirtybedding and replace with clean bedding; 2) picking up the dirty beddingat a customer's site; 3) transporting the dirty bedding to a cleaningapparatus for cleaning; 4) cleaning the dirty bedding to form cleanbedding; and 5) transporting cleaned bedding to a customer's site toreplace the dirty bedding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Various other objects, advantages, and features of the inventionwill become apparent to those skilled in the art from the followingdiscussion taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0031]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the preferred method for recovery,cleaning, and recycling animal bedding, showing the steps involved inconverting dirty bedding into cleaned bedding, manure sludge forfertilizing crops, and fine solid particulate waste which is disposedof.

[0032]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred cleaning apparatuswith a pair of conveyors respectively feeding dirty bedding to thecleaning apparatus and transporting cleaned bedding from the cleaningapparatus.

[0033]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the cleaning apparatus with conveyorswith the bedding.

[0034]FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the cleaningapparatus with conveyors, showing the pulse washer and the vibratorywasher.

[0035]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the pulse washer and the vibratorywasher of the cleaning apparatus separate from the conveyors.

[0036]FIG. 6 is a perspective view in partial longitudinal cross-sectionof the pulse washer separate from the vibratory washer.

[0037]FIG. 7 is a side elevational view in partial longitudinalcross-section of the pulse washer separate from the vibratory washer.

[0038]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the vibratory washer separate fromthe pulse washer.

[0039]FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the preferred method of doingbusiness, showing the showing the steps involved in running a businessutilizing the method of recovering, cleaning, and recycling bedding.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0040] As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention aredisclosed herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosedembodiments are merely exemplary of the invention which may be embodiedin various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as abasis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching oneskilled in the art to variously employ the present invention invirtually any appropriately detailed structure.

[0041] Reference is now made to the drawings, wherein likecharacteristics and features of the present invention shown in thevarious FIGURES are designated by the same reference numerals.

First Preferred Embodiment

[0042] The method is for recovering, cleaning, and recycling animalbedding used in barns and stables which house animals such as horses andcows that produce manure. The dirty bedding includes bedding which iscontaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, andother waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 1, the method for recovering, cleaning, andrecycling animal bedding 20 begins by collecting the dirty bedding fromat least one customer's site which houses animals that deposit manureonto the bedding to produce the dirty bedding. The dirty bedding isscooped up from barns and stables housing the animals, preferably crumbrubber bedding though wood chips and other solid bedding may be used,using shovels and wheelbarrows, block 22. The dirty bedding is loadedonto a transport vehicle such as a truck, block 24. An example of asuitable truck would be one which is capable of holding wet materialswith a maximum load capacity of about ten tons. The truck transports thedirty bedding to a cleaning facility or plant, block 25. The transporteddirty bedding is unloaded from the truck and is stockpiled on the groundclose to the cleaning plant. The dirty bedding is loaded into an inputhopper which feeds an input conveyor which portions a desired amount ofthe dirty bedding into a feed hopper of a cleaning apparatus within thecleaning plant, blocks 26, 28. A small front end loader isadvantageously employed to load the dirty bedding into the input at thecleaning plant. The plant is designed to clean and separate the beddingfrom contaminates and other waste products contained therewith toproduce cleaned bedding. Water is added into the feed hopper as thedirty bedding is portioned to form a slurry, block 31. The water forwashing the dirty bedding is fed into the cleaning facility from anoutside water source, block 33 is pumped into the plant, block 35. Theslurry is vibration fed from the feed hopper onto a first screen of thepulse washer, block 37. The dirty bedding in the form of a slurry ispulse washed to form initially cleaned bedding and primary dirty watercontaining the manure, urine, dirt, and sand, and to physically separatethe initially cleaned bedding from lighter contaminates such as straw.The slurry is also sprayed with water during pulse washing to assist inwashing, block 39. The primary dirty water is pumped through a filter toremove the manure and other contaminates, producing cleaned filteredwater and a primary sludge comprised primarily of manure, block 41. Theprimary sludge comprised primarily of manure is removed from the filterand deposited into drums for containment and later resale and shipmentto farms as a fertilizer, block 43. Some of the cleaned filtered wateris returned to the water source for later pumping into the cleaningplant, block 45. Some of the cleaned filtered water is immediatelyrecycled by combining with water from the water source entering the feedhopper to wash the dirty bedding, block 47. The initially cleanedbedding separated from the lighter contaminates is moved manually byhand or is automatically pushed by the pulse washer onto a vibratorywasher. The vibratory washer final washes the initially cleaned beddingto produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneouslyspraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays ofhigh pressure water to remove any primary dirty water remaining from thepulse washing. Any loose pieces of solid material such as fine rubberparticles along with other solid waste clinging to the initially cleanedbedding, and any light straws clinging to the initially cleaned beddingare washed away to produce secondary dirty water containing primarilyfine rubber particles from the crumb rubber bedding, block 49. Thefinally cleaned bedding is unloaded from the vibratory washer andtransported to a stockpile of cleaned bedding, block 51. The unloadingpreferably includes passing the finally cleaned bedding through anoutlet screen to remove any stray straws, onto an output conveyor thattransports the cleaned bedding to a desired location where it isstockpiled. The finally cleaned bedding that is stockpiled is baggedusing a bagging device for subsequent shipment to end users, block 53.The secondary dirty water is filtered to remove solid particles shakenfree from the initially cleaned bedding, producing cleaned filteredwater and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of rubber particles,block 55. Some of the cleaned filtered water is returned to the watersource for later pumping into the cleaning plant, block 45. Some of thecleaned filtered water is immediately recycled by combining with waterfrom the water source entering the feed hopper to wash the dirtybedding, block 47. The secondary sludge comprised primarily of rubberparticles is removed from the filter and is disposed of, block 59.

Second Preferred Embodiment

[0044] Referring to FIGS. 2-5, the cleaning portion of the method ofrecovering, cleaning, and recycling animal bedding is carried out usinga cleaning apparatus 62 comprising in combination a pulse washer 65 anda vibratory washer 68. A front end loader (not shown) loads dirtybedding 71 preferably in the form of crumb rubber, though wood chips, orother bedding 74 may be used (hereinafter all referred to as bedding)contaminated with waste material 77 such as straw, manure, sand, andsilt is loaded into a feed hopper (not shown) which feeds an inputconveyor 80. Individual particles of the crumb rubber bedding are of asize ranging from about one-quarter to three-eights inch in roughlyrectangular cross-section, and from about one-quarter inch to fourinches in length. Rubber particles should have reasonably good integrityso as not to disintegrate upon application of moderate mechanicalhandling. The dirty bedding 71 is portioned from the feed hopper by theinput conveyor 80 and dumped into a feed hopper 83 mounted on a mainframe 86 of the pulse washer 65. Water enters the feed hopper 83 througha pipe 89 to moisten the dirty bedding 71 to a slurry 92. The slurry 92flows from the feed hopper 83 onto a removable screen assembly 95 havinga first screen 98 mounted on an upstanding rigid peripheral frame 101for receiving dirty bedding 71 in the form of slurry 92 from the feedhopper 83, with a plurality of gripping handles 104 for lifting. Thefirst screen 98 has openings (not shown) of a smaller size than the sizeof the bedding 74 in the slurry 92 so as to be retained thereon whilepermitting smaller particles such as the manure, dirt, and sand to fallthrough. The feed hopper 83 is preferably of a vibratory type whichvibrates to feed the slurry 92 onto the first screen 98.

[0045] The screen assembly 95 is supported by the main frame 86 over anopen topped tank 107. An overhead spray system 108 includes a pluralityof capped end transverse water pipes 110 are disposed over the screenassembly 95 and tank 107 and over the vibratory washer 68, which extendlaterally from a longitudinally extending main water pipe 113 disposedlaterally above and along the screen assembly 95 of the pulse washer 65and the vibratory washer 68, the transverse water pipes which extendover the first screen 98 of screen assembly 95 and over the vibratorywasher 68. A plurality of sprays 116 of wash water are emitted fromrespective downwardly oriented spray nozzles 119 affixed to transversewater pipes 110 onto the slurry 92 on the first screen 98 of the pulsewasher 65. The wash water comes through a pipe 122 that is connectableto a water supply pipe (not shown) for supplying pressurized water,pumped by a wash water pump 125, into the main water pipe 113. A handvalve 128 controls the flow of wash water through pipe 113.

[0046] As best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the pulse washer 65 washes theslurry 92 using a pulsing action imparted to water contained within thetank 107 to remove loose, fine particulates such as manure, sand, andsilt forming primary dirty water 131 contained in separate pool portions134 and 137 formed in tank 107 by a vertically disposed divider wall 140of the tank 107. The pulsing action is imparted by a pulse generatingdevice 141, creating a differential height “H” which alternates betweenpool portions 134 and 137 to alternately wash over the first screen 98and the dirty bedding in the form of slurry 92 to wash the wastematerials 77 of manure, urine, dirt, and sand from the dirty bedding,which is washed into the tank 107 to produce primary dirty water 131 andinitially cleaned bedding 138. Additionally, the pulse washer 65 washesthe slurry 92 using sprays 139 of wash water into the primary dirtywater 131. The lighter waste material 77 such straw is separated fromthe bedding 74, both remaining on the first screen 98 but separatedthereon due to the higher mobility of the straw and other lighter wastematerial 77 following waves created by the pulsing water. The result ispulse washer 65 washing and physically separating the heavier bedding 74from the lighter waste material 77 on the first screen 98.

[0047] The pulse generating device 141 includes a movable diaphragm 143which is disposed within a flattened cylindrical housing 146 through thedivider wall 140, which diaphragm 143 is reciprocally driven by a drivedevice 147 operatively connected thereto. Drive device 147 includes anelectric motor 149 connected to main frame 86 which drives a wheel 152with a shaft 155 having a drive end 158 eccentrically pivotallyconnected thereto, shaft 155 extending into the tank 101 at a sealassembly 161 having an annular bellows 164. A driven end 167 of shaft155 is centrally connected to the diaphragm 143.

[0048] The primary dirty water 131 is pumped into a water filtrationsystem 168 through a rectangular drain hole 170 disposed below thedivider wall 140 through a bottom wall 173 that is inwardly taperedtoward the drain hole 170 of the tank between an upstanding peripheralwall 171, through a funnel adapter 176, into a pipe 179 leading to awater recirculating pump 182 which moves the primary dirty water 131through the water filtration system 168. The primary dirty water 131exits from pump 182 through a pipe 185 that goes through a primaryfilter 188 that removes the waste material 77 such as the manure, dirt,and sand from the primary dirty water 131 as a primary sludge 191comprising mostly manure, producing cleaned filtered water 183. Thecleaned filtered water 183 that has passed through the primary filter188 is recycled to wash dirty bedding 71 by circulating through the pipe89 back to the feed hopper 83 to moisten the dirty bedding 71 into theslurry 92 for washing prior to being received on the first screen 98 ofthe screen assembly 95. The primary sludge 191, comprising mostly manureand minimal primary dirty water 131 filtered out by primary filter 188,is removed daily from the primary filter 188 for use as fertilizer forcrops. The flow of cleaned filtered water 183 is controlled using a pairof hand valves 194 and 195. Replacement water 197 is added to the pipingof the water filtration system 168 from a water supply pipe (not shown)for supplying pressurized water through a pipe 200 leading into pipe 179through a water valve 203 for adding replacement wash water.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 8, with the majority of the waste material 77removed, the separated initially cleaned bedding 138 on the first screen98 is gradually moved off the screen assembly 95 by the pulsating of theprimary dirty water 131 within tank 107 over the first screen 98 onto asecond screen 206 of a vibrator assembly 209 of the vibratory washer 68.The second screen 206 has openings (not shown) of a smaller size thanthe size of the bedding 74 so as to be retained thereon while permittingsmaller particles such as the manure, dirt, and sand to fall through.The vibrator assembly 209 includes an upstanding rigid peripheral frame212 which supports the second screen 206, with a rectangular archportion 215 extending thereabove. The vibrator assembly 209 isresiliently mounted on a support frame 218 of the vibratory washer 68over a flat walled funnel 221 mounted to the peripheral frame 212 on aplurality of resilient mounts in the form of upright springs 224. Thevibrator assembly 209 is vibrated by a vibrator device in the form of anelectric vibrator 227 mounted atop the arch portion 215. The vibratorymotion imparted ma be vertical, orbital, or a combination thereofincluding random. A plurality of very high pressure, high velocitysprays 228 of rinsing water are emitted from respective downwardlyoriented high pressure spray nozzles 230 affixed to transverse waterpipes 110 of overhead spray system 108 onto the initially cleanedbedding 138 for a final wash on the second screen 206, and removal ofany lighter waste materials such as straws that may cling to the bedding74. The vibratory washer 68 finally washes the initially cleaned bedding138 to produce finally cleaned bedding 231 by vibrating andsimultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding 138 with theplurality of high velocity sprays 228 of wash water from the spraynozzles 230 over the vibratory washer 68 onto the initially cleanedbedding 138. The plurality of high velocity sprays 228 remove anyprimary dirty water 131 remaining from pulse washing, any loose solidpieces of solid material, and any light straws and other remainingcontaminates of waste material 77 to produce secondary dirty water 232.The wash water comes from the water source through the pipe 122, pumpedby the wash water pump 125, into the pipe 113. The hand valve 128controls the flow of wash water through pipe 113. The wash water fromnozzles 230 flows into a large inlet 233 of the flat walled funnel 221and through a small outlet 236 thereof as secondary dirty watercontaining fine rubber particles and other solid particulates shakenfrom the initially cleaned bedding 138 into an outlet pipe (not shown)for subsequent filtering and recycling of the cleaned filtered water 183and disposal of a secondary sludge (not shown) filtered therefrom.

[0050] With the remainder of the waste material 77 and primary dirtywater 131 removed, the finally cleaned bedding 231 gradually move off anoutlet edge 242 of the second screen 206 of the vibrator assembly 209due to a slight longitudinal downward incline of second screen 206 froman inlet edge 245 thereof to outlet edge 242 such that the finallycleaned bedding 231 is automatically offloaded from the vibratory washer68 by vibration of the second screen 206. The finally cleaned bedding231 passes through an outlet screen 248 affixed to the vibrator assembly209 adjacent the outlet edge 242 of the second screen 206 through whichthe finally cleaned bedding 231 passes during offloading to retain anyremaining waste material 77, primarily straw. The finally cleanedbedding 231 is offloaded onto a output conveyor 251 that transports thefinally cleaned bedding 231 to a stock pile 254 or to a manuallyoperated combination bin collector and bagging device (not shown).

Third Preferred Embodiment

[0051] A recycling plant (not shown) for cleaning bedding, preferablycrumb rubber bedding, includes one or more of the cleaning apparatusesdescribed above. The dirty bedding is stockpiled outside the recyclingplant and is loaded into an input hopper which feeds an input conveyor.The input conveyor portions the dirty bedding into the feed hopper ofthe pulse washer, a primary water filtration device, and an outputconveyor. The recycling plant receives water for washing the dirtybedding which is pumped from an outside body of water such as a lake,river, or well. A water pumping system pumps and filters the water priorto use for washing bedding. A primary water filtration device receivesand filters the primary dirty water produced by the pulse washer andremoves the manure, dirt, and sand, producing cleaned filtered water andthe primary sludge comprised of manure. The primary sludge isperiodically removed and packaged in containers for shipment to farmsand other end users as fertilizer. A secondary water filtration devicereceives and filters the secondary dirty water from the vibratory washerto remove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned beddingand other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filteredwater and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particleswhich is periodically removed from said secondary water filtrationdevice and disposed of. The water pumping system recycles a portion ofthe cleaned filtered water by combining the portion with the water fromthe outside body of water to wash the dirty bedding and to return aportion of the cleaned filtered water to the outside body of water. Theoutput conveyor transports the finally cleaned bedding from thevibratory washer to a stockpile area for the finally cleaned bedding. Abagging machine bags the stockpiled finally cleaned bedding forsubsequent shipment back to farms and stables for re-use as bedding.

[0052] A typical cleaning plant would be designed to handle ten tons ofdirty bedding per day. The cleaning plant would pump about fifty tons ofwater per day from the water source, preferably a lake or river, andreturn about ten tons of water per day returned to the lake as cleanedfiltered water. The removal and return of water requires compliance withlaws and regulations governing clean water removal and return to lakesincluding those of the Environmental Protection for water quality andmanagement. The water from the water source must be reasonably clean andavailable in quantities of at least fifty gallons per minute. Thecleaning plant filters removes all contaminates and waste materials fromthe bedding during cleaning to an acceptable level for reuse as newbedding. The cleaning plant stockpiles the cleaned bedding for baggingor other packaging. The plant may be mobile such as the cleaningapparatus being mounted on the trailer of a tractor trailer rig fortransport to and from customer sites.

Fourth Preferred Embodiment

[0053] Referring to FIG. 9, the business method 257 for recovering,cleaning, and recycling dirty bedding used at customer sites in barnsand stables which house animals such as horses and cows that producemanure begins by a corporate entity 260 negotiating transactions withbedding suppliers to supply new bedding as needed, block 263. Thebedding preferably comprises crumb rubber. The corporate entity 260negotiates bedding cleaning and replacement service contracts withcustomers such as stable owners and farmers, the customers, to removethe manure contaminated dirty bedding and replace with clean bedding,block 266. The dirty bedding is picked up from the customer's site,transported to the cleaning plant, and cleaned, block 269. The cleanedbedding is transported back to the customer's site and replaces dirtybedding in the stalls and barns, block 272. The corporate entity 260bills customers and receives periodic customer payments for the beddingcleaning and replacement service, block 275. The corporate entity 260pays operational costs including utilities, overheads, and rent forpicking up, cleaning, and replacing the dirty bedding from the customerpayments, block 278. The corporate entity 260 replaces all filters asneeded and pays for regular maintenance for the cleaning plant from thecustomer payments, block 281. The corporate entity 260 ordersreplacement new bedding from bedding suppliers as needed, receives thenew bedding, and pays for the new bedding received, block 284. Profitsare retained at a bank and drawn by the corporate entity 260 as needed,block 287.

[0054] Many variations of the present invention are possible whilestaying within the same inventive concept. For example, an insecticidemay be sprayed from a spray fogger after cleaning onto the bedding torepel or kill flies and other insects which are attracted to manure onthe bedding. The bedding may be vibration dried by turning off the flowof water prior to unloading onto the output conveyor, heat dried, oreven sterilized using heat or chemicals prior to unloading. Varioustypes of conveyors may be used, such as centerless conveyor with spiralflights, a conveyor with screw-driven and centered V-rams, and aconveyor with both center axis and spiral flights, and the like. Theentire cleaning apparatus may be truck mounted, skid mounted, or freestanding, and can be manually or automatically operated. The cleaningdevice may be adapted for use with other types of animal bedding such ascrushed walnut shells or corn cobs, though this likely necessitatessanitizing, drying, and possibly application of an insecticide due tothe possibility of decay and mold forming.

[0055] While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustratedand shown in various terms or certain embodiments or modifications whichit has assumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intendedto be, nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such othermodifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teaching hereinare particularly reversed especially as they fall within the breadth andscope of the claims here appended.

I claim as my invention:
 1. A method for recovering, cleaning, andrecycling dirty bedding used in barns and stables which house animalssuch as horses and cows that produce manure, the dirty bedding includingbedding which is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced bythe animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand,comprising the steps of: portioning a desired amount of dirty beddingonto a first screen of a pulse washer; pulse washing the dirty beddingto form initially cleaned bedding by circulating the dirty bedding onthe first screen to wash manure, urine, dirt, and sand therefrom throughthe first screen to produce primary dirty water in a tank of the pulsewasher, and physically separating on the first screen the initiallycleaned bedding from lighter contaminates such as straw; transferringthe initially cleaned bedding separated from the lighter contaminatesonto a second screen of a vibratory washer; final washing the initiallycleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating andsimultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a pluralityof sprays of high pressure water to remove any primary dirty waterremaining from the pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material ofthe initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remainingcontaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to producesecondary dirty water; and unloading the finally cleaned bedding fromthe vibratory washer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the desiredamount of dirty bedding is portioned into a feed hopper which feeds thedirty bedding onto the first screen of the pulse washer.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein water is added into the feed hopper as the dirtybedding is portioned to form a slurry fed onto the first screen of thepulse washer.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the slurry is vibrationfed from the feed hopper onto the first screen of the pulse washer. 5.The method of claim 2, wherein the dirty bedding is portioned into thefeed hopper by an input conveyor which includes an input hopper intowhich the dirty bedding is dumped.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein theunloading of the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washerincludes placing the cleaned bedding onto an output conveyor thattransports the cleaned bedding to a desired location.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the finally cleaned bedding transported to the desiredlocation is stockpiled.
 8. The method of claim 7, additionallycomprising the step of bagging the finally cleaned bedding stockpiled atthe desired location for subsequent shipment.
 9. The method of claim 6,wherein the unloading of the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratorywasher includes passing the finally cleaned bedding through a outletscreen prior to placing onto the output conveyor.
 10. The method ofclaim 5, additionally comprising the steps of: collecting the dirtybedding from at least one customer's site which houses animals thatdeposit manure onto the bedding to produce the dirty bedding; loadingthe dirty bedding into a transport vehicle; transporting the dirtybedding to a cleaning facility; and unloading the dirty bedding from thetransport vehicle at the cleaning facility and loading the dirty beddinginto the input hopper of the input conveyor.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the dirty bedding is stockpiled prior to loading into the inputhopper of the input conveyor.
 12. The method of claim 1, additionallycomprising the step of filtering the primary dirty water to remove themanure and other contaminates, producing cleaned filtered water and aprimary sludge comprised primarily of manure.
 13. The method of claim12, wherein the primary sludge is deposited into containers for latershipment to farms as a fertilizer.
 14. The method of claim 12, whereinat least a portion of the primary filtered water is used to wash thedirty bedding.
 15. The method of claim 12, additionally comprising thestep of filtering the secondary dirty water to remove solid particlesshaken free from the initially cleaned bedding and other solidcontaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filtered water and asecondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particles.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, additionally comprising the step of disposing of thesecondary sludge.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the dirty beddingis sprayed with water during pulse washing to assist in washing manure,dirt, and sand therefrom through the first screen to produce the primarydirty water in a tank of the pulse washer.
 18. The method of claim 1,wherein the initially cleaned bedding is manually dumped by hand ontothe vibratory washer.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein the initiallycleaned bedding is automatically pushed by pulsing of the pulse washeronto the vibratory washer.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein thebedding comprises crumb rubber.
 21. The method of claim 1, additionallycomprising the step of feeding water into a cleaning facility from anoutside water source for washing the dirty bedding.
 22. The method ofclaim 21, additionally comprising the step of recycling a portion of thecleaned filtered water by combining with the water from the water sourceto wash the dirty bedding and returning another portion of the cleanedfiltered water directly to the water source after filtering.
 23. Themethod of claim 1, wherein water is added to the dirty bedding beingportioned onto the first screen of the pulse washer to form a slurry.24. A method for recovering, cleaning, and recycling dirty crumb rubberbedding used in barns and stables which house animals such as horses andcows that produce manure, the dirty bedding including the crumb rubberbedding which is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced bythe animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand,comprising the steps of: feeding water into a cleaning facility from anoutside water source for washing the dirty bedding; portioning a desiredamount of dirty bedding into a feed hopper which feeds the dirty beddingonto a first screen of a pulse washer, water being added into the feedhopper as the dirty bedding is portioned to form a slurry fed onto thefirst screen of the pulse washer; pulse washing the dirty bedding toform initially cleaned bedding by circulating the dirty bedding on thefirst screen to wash manure, urine, dirt, and sand therefrom through thefirst screen to produce primary dirty water in a tank of the pulsewasher, and physically separating on the first screen the initiallycleaned bedding from lighter contaminates such as straw, the dirtybedding being sprayed with water during pulse washing to assist inwashing the manure, dirt, and sand therefrom through the first screen toproduce the primary dirty water in a tank of the pulse washer; filteringthe primary dirty water to remove the manure and other contaminates,producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprisedprimarily of manure, the primary sludge which is deposited intocontainers for later shipment to farms as a fertilizer, at least aportion of the cleaned filtered water which is used to wash the dirtybedding; transferring the initially cleaned bedding separated from thelighter contaminates onto a second screen of a vibratory washer; finalwashing the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned beddingby vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned beddingwith a plurality of sprays of high pressure water to remove any primarydirty water remaining from the pulse washing, any loose pieces of solidmaterial of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws andother remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned beddingto produce secondary dirty water; filtering the secondary dirty water toremove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned beddingand other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filteredwater and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particles;disposing of the secondary sludge; and unloading the finally cleanedbedding from the vibratory washer.
 25. The method of claim 24,additionally comprising the steps of: collecting the dirty bedding fromat least one customer's site which houses animals that deposit manureonto the bedding to produce the dirty bedding; loading the dirty beddinginto a transport vehicle; transporting the dirty bedding to the cleaningfacility; unloading the dirty bedding from the transport vehicle andstockpiling at the cleaning facility; loading the dirty bedding into aninput hopper of an input conveyor which portions the dirty bedding intothe feed hopper; recycling a portion of the water from the water sourceafter filtering by combining the portion with the water from the watersource to wash the dirty bedding and a portion is returned directly tothe water source after filtering; and wherein the slurry is vibrationfed from the feed hopper onto the first screen of the pulse washer, theinitially cleaned bedding is moved from the pulse washer to thevibration washer by a method chosen from the set consisting of manuallydumping by hand and automatically pushed by pulsing of the pulse washer,the unloading of the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washerincludes passing the finally cleaned bedding through an outlet screenonto an output conveyor that transports the cleaned bedding to a desiredlocation, and the finally cleaned bedding transported to the desiredlocation is stockpiled.
 26. The method of claim 25, additionallycomprising the step of bagging the finally cleaned bedding stockpiled atthe desired location for subsequent shipment.
 27. An apparatus forcleaning recovered dirty bedding for recycling as used in barns andstables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure,the dirty bedding including bedding which is contaminated with animalmanure and urine produced by the animals, and other waste materials suchas straw, dirt, and sand, comprising in combination: a pulse washer,including; a main frame; a feed hopper mounted on said main frame; ascreen assembly having a first screen mounted on an upstandingperipheral frame and adapted for receiving dirty bedding from said feedhopper; an open topped tank having a bottom wall which is inwardlytapered toward a drain hole of said tank, and at least one upstandingperipheral wall, said screen assembly being supported over said tank bysaid main frame, said tank having a vertically disposed divider walldisposed above said drain hole which forms said tank into separate poolportions; pulse generating device which includes a movable diaphragm isdisposed within a housing through said divider wall that is reciprocallydriven by a drive device operatively connected thereto, said pulsewasher which initially washes the dirty bedding using a pulsing actionimparted to water contained within said tank creating a differentialheight which alternates between said pool portions to alternately washover said first screen and the dirty bedding to simultaneously wash themanure, urine, dirt, and sand from the dirty bedding which is washedinto said tank to produce primary dirty water and initially cleanedbedding, and to physically separate the heavier initially cleanedbedding from the lighter waste material on said first screen; a waterfiltration system including piping leading from said drain hole of saidtank, through a pump which moves the primary dirty water through thewater filtration system, and a primary filter which removes the manure,dirt, and sand from the primary dirty water as a primary sludge andproduces cleaned filtered water, to said feed hopper such that thecleaned filtered water is circulated back to said feed hopper to moistenthe dirty bedding into a slurry prior to being received on said firstscreen of said screen assembly; a vibratory washer, including; a supportframe; a funnel having a large inlet and a small outlet mounted to saidsupport frame; a vibrator assembly having a second screen adapted forreceiving the initially cleaned bedding from said pulse washer, beingsupported by a peripheral frame resiliently mounted on said supportframe above said funnel on a plurality of resilient mounts, saidvibrator assembly being vibrated by a vibrator device mounted thereto;an overhead spray system including a first water pipe disposed generallyabove said vibrator assembly and connectable to a water supply pipe forsupplying pressurized water, and a plurality of downwardly oriented highpressure spray nozzles operatively associated with said first water pipefor providing a plurality of sprays of rinsing water onto the initiallywashed bedding on said second screen of said vibrator assembly; andwherein said vibratory washer finally washes the initially cleanedbedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating andsimultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a pluralityof sprays of high pressure water from said high pressure spray nozzlesto remove any primary dirty water remaining from pulse washing, anyloose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and anylight straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initiallycleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water.
 28. The apparatus ofclaim 27, wherein the second screen is slight longitudinal downwardlyinclined from an inlet edge to outlet edge thereof such that the finallycleaned bedding is automatically offloaded from the vibratory washer byvibration of said second screen.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28,additionally comprising an outlet screen affixed to the vibratorassembly adjacent the outlet edge of the second screen through which thefinally cleaned bedding passes during offloading adapted to retain anyremaining straw.
 30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the overheadspray system further includes a second water pipe disposed generallyabove the screen assembly of the pulse washer and connectable to thewater supply pipe for supplying pressurized water, and a plurality ofdownwardly oriented spray nozzles operatively associated with saidsecond water pipe for providing a plurality of sprays of washing wateronto the dirty bedding on the first screen of said pulse washer.
 31. Theapparatus of claim 30, wherein the first and second water pipes comprisea single longitudinally extending main water pipe disposed laterallyabove and along the screen assembly and the vibrator assembly, said mainwater pipe being connectable to the water supply pipe, and furtherincluding a plurality of capped end transverse water pipes which extendlaterally from said main water pipe over the first and second screens,the pluralities of downwardly oriented spray nozzles and high pressurespray nozzles being affixed to said transverse pipes for providing thepluralities of sprays and high pressure sprays.
 32. The apparatus ofclaim 27, wherein the piping of the water filtration system isconnectable to a water supply pipe for supplying pressurized waterthrough a water valve for adding replacement wash water.
 33. Theapparatus of claim 27, wherein the feed hopper is of a vibratory typewhich vibrates to feed the slurry onto the first screen of the pulsewasher.
 34. A recycling plant for cleaning recovered dirty bedding forrecycling as used in barns and stables which house animals such ashorses and cows that produce manure, the dirty bedding including beddingwhich is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by theanimals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand,comprising in combination: a cleaning apparatus which includes a pulsewasher connected to a water supply for supplying pressurized water andadapted for receiving dirty bedding and water from a water source toform a slurry, said pulse washer which initially washes the dirtybedding using a pulsing action to simultaneously wash the manure, dirt,and sand from the dirty bedding to produce primary dirty water andinitially cleaned bedding, and to physically separate the heavierinitially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material, said cleaningapparatus further including a vibratory washer connected to said watersupply and adapted for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from saidpulse washer, said vibratory washer which finally washes the initiallycleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating andsimultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a pluralityof sprays of high pressure water to remove any primary dirty waterremaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of theinitially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remainingcontaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to producesecondary dirty water; an input conveyor for transporting and portioningthe dirty bedding onto the pulse washer; a primary water waterfiltration device adapted for receiving and filtering the primary dirtywater from said pulse washer to remove the manure, dirt, and sand,producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprisedprimarily of manure which is periodically removed from said primarywater filtration device for use as fertilizer, and a portion of thecleaned filtered water which is pumped back to the water source and aportion of the cleaned filtered water which is pumped back to said pulsewasher to form the slurry; and an output conveyor for transporting thefinally cleaned bedding from said vibratory washer to a stockpile areafor the finally cleaned bedding.
 35. The recycling plant of claim 34,additionally comprising a secondary water filtration device adapted forreceiving and filtering the secondary dirty water from the vibratorywasher to remove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleanedbedding and other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleanedfiltered water and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of the solidparticles which is periodically removed from said secondary waterfiltration device and disposed of.
 36. The recycling plant of claim 34,wherein the pulse washer includes a feed hopper into which dirty beddingis portioned by the input conveyor.
 37. The recycling plant of claim 34,wherein the input conveyor includes an input hopper into which the dirtybedding may be dumped for transport on said input conveyor.
 38. Therecycling plant of claim 37, wherein the input hopper is accessible forloading with dirty bedding from outside the recycling plant such thatthe dirty bedding is stockpiled outside of the recycling plant prior toloading into said input hopper.
 39. The recycling plant of claim 34,additionally comprising a bagging machine for bagging the finallycleaned bedding for subsequent shipment.
 40. The recycling plant ofclaim 34, additionally comprising a water pumping system for pumpingwater for washing the dirty bedding into the recycling plant from anoutside body of water.
 41. The recycling plant of claim 40, wherein thewater pumping system is adapted to recycling a portion of the cleanedfiltered water by combining the portion with the water from the outsidebody of water to wash the dirty bedding and to return a portion of thecleaned filtered water to the outside body of water.
 42. A businessmethod for recovering, cleaning, and recycling dirty bedding used atcustomer sites in barns and stables which house animals such as horsesand cows that produce manure, the dirty bedding including bedding whichis contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals,and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand, comprising thesteps of: negotiating a bedding cleaning and replacement servicecontract with customers such as stable owners and farmers to remove themanure contaminated dirty bedding and replace with clean bedding;picking up the dirty bedding at a customer's site; transporting thedirty bedding to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning; cleaning the dirtybedding to form clean bedding; and transporting cleaned bedding to acustomer's site to replace the dirty bedding.
 43. The method of claim42, wherein the bedding comprises crumb rubber.
 44. The method of claim42, additionally comprising the step of negotiating a contract with abedding supplier to furnish new bedding as needed.
 45. The method ofclaim 42, additionally comprising the step of ordering and receiving newbedding from a bedding supplier when needed.
 46. The method of claim 45,additionally comprising the step of paying for the new bedding receivedfrom the supplier.
 47. The method of claim 42, additionally comprisingthe steps of: receiving periodic customer payments for the beddingcleaning and replacement service; and paying operational expenses fromthe periodic customer payments.
 48. The method of claim 42, additionallycomprising the steps of: negotiating a contract with a bedding supplierto furnish new bedding as needed; ordering and receiving new beddingfrom a bedding supplier when needed; paying for the new bedding receivedfrom the supplier; receiving periodic customer payments for the beddingcleaning and replacement service; paying operational expenses from theperiodic customer payments; and wherein the bedding comprises crumbrubber.